The Hindu Business Line : Bomb blasts shatter Mumbai; 43 dead

Both bombs placed inside taxi boots went off a little while after 1 p.m., police officials said. Earlier in the day, there were rumours of blasts at four to five different spots, all laid to rest by evening with official confirmation of only two.

Mr R.S. Sharma, the city Police Commissioner, said that jehadi groups may be involved in the explosions but refused to name any. According to him, the driver of one of the taxis parked at the Gateway parking lot has been taken in for interrogation.

A forensic team is investigating the explosives used in the bombs. Police officials said that it would be possible to identify the group involved from the nature of explosives used. It is believed that the materials used are similar to ones used in recent blasts in the city.

The first blast ripped through a car park adjacent to Gateway of India, opposite the Taj Mahal hotel. Around the same time, another bomb exploded at the crowded Zaveri Bazaar, the wholesale market in Mumbai's central business area.

Most of the injured were rushed to various State-run hospitals - GT Hospital, St George Hospital and JJ Hospital.

Five of the injured were treated at Kothari Hospital and Nair Hospital.

Police, ambulance and fire department vehicles rushed to the site. Many of the injured and dead were transported to hospitals by on-lookers and passers-by.

"Today's blasts in Mumbai have thrown up a challenge to the unique resilience of this city. This is an effort to destroy the peace and financial stability of the city,'' Mr Sushil Kumar Shinde, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, said.

The city's economy had been looking up since last December. Inflow of tourists was also encouraging with most hotels reporting good occupancy rates, he added.

Both Mr Shinde and the Police Commissioner maintained that the blasts could not be construed at this point in time as due to any intelligence failure.

Mr Sharma said that there had been indications of crowded city spots like the Gateway and Chowpatti being likely targets for terrorist attack.

Today's explosions brought back memories of the serial bomb blasts that ripped through the city on March 12, 1993.

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